A Blissful Breather

It's been a very busy week (preceded and followed by another busy week - for which we are grateful), and we were looking forward to visiting his parents at the farm and getting away from the hurdy-gurdy of urban living.

We undergo a remarkable change every time we're at the farm.  For one thing, we go to bed at 8PM.  Around that time, everyone just winds down, and it gets really quiet except for our friendly tuko and the strong winds blowing through the trees surrounding the house.   At home, we're usually up late, either watching something, reading, surfing or playing video games.  The cock crows at around 4-5AM, waking up all the animals, who in turn get really noisy and wake up their humans.  Waking up in Manila is relative to our schedule the following day (i.e. early shoot means an early bedtime the previous night; late meeting means a late night).

Breakfast is served at 6AM, lunch at 12NN and dinner at 6:30PM.  Nards' Mom and Aunt would prepare and serve snacks at 10AM and at 3PM on the dot.   Our normal eating habits is not as rigorous and frequent.  We normally eat when we're hungry and we don't follow a schedule. 

In Manila, temperatures have gone up to 34-37 degrees, making everyone fully aware of the summer season and the sweltering heat and humidity it brings.  At the farm, it's relatively cooler.  For one thing, the house is far from the road and is surrounded by trees.  The ground is covered with soft grass.   There's a friendly breeze most of the time, that makes the wind chimes on the porch tinkle gently.   Wind chimes are so pleasant that I normally get sleepy whenever I hear them, which is all the time at the farm!

The family usually gathers on the porch after lunch until dinner time, just talking or reading or listening to the radio.  In the city where everyone has a pair of earbuds jammed down their ears, it's a forgotten treat to have the family sit on the porch and listen to the radio.  The last time, Nards and I brought our scrabble board with us.  We had a really good time playing on that cool porch, with the cats weaving between our legs, and the dogs surrounding our feet.

 

This is where we sleep.  It's a king-size mattress on a a huge elevated platform made of bamboo slats at the second floor of the house.   It looks out to the farm on both sides.  At night, we hunker down under a comforter because it gets really really cold.  Unbelievably so.  Nards and I had to put a curtain up to shield us from the cold wind blowing in through the windows.

 

I always bring my iPod everywhere, but at the farm it's a necessity.  It prevents me from hearing the loud cries of the tuko (gecko) - those creatures just freak me out.  And this is an understatement, believe me.

  

This is Agatha, the cow.  She's pretty shy, and likes to hide out in the back near the chicken coop.  She's got a really loud moo on her though.  She's the one who woke me up.

  

Margarita and Ross used to be stray kittens who decided to take permanent residence at the farm. They're living like queens compared to their fellow cats in Manila.

This is a part of the garden at the front of the house.  Nards' Mom has a very green thumb.  She has a huge aviary for her lovebirds, a gazebo where we sometimes eat, a small house for Bruno and Britney, the burly labradors.  Britney is pregnant, and one puppy is ours, I was told.  (I was about to do cartwheels, but Nards says we're keeping the puppy in the farm.  Crud.)

 

Meet Bantam the Bully.  He's a small rooster, but all the other roosters including Edward (Cullen?) who is about the size of a mongrel are deathly afraid of him.  I wanted to take a photo of Edward but Bantam chased him under the coop.

  

Can you believe that this is used as a doorstop? It should be in a museum!  It's solid and can actually double as a home defense system (i.e. whack an intruder with it.)

On our drive home, Nards and I made a pit-stop to take photos of a church and some old houses.  I love old houses.  I'm so fascinated by their architecture.  Houses then were made for living and pleasure.  Now, it's 30-60 square meters of full-functionality or bust.